Heroic healthcare innovators and their innovations

Slide show: Eight exciting ways that doctors and scientists are cutting costs and increasing the quality of care

Published June 28, 2010 12:01PM (EDT)

Richard Santulli, chairman of the Intrepid Fallen Hero Fund, holding scissors at center, and Arnold Fisher, honorary chairman of the Intrepid Fallen Hero Fund, with scissors third from right, cut the ribbon during the dedication of the National Intrepid Center of Excellence at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., Thursday, June 24, 2010. Also participating in the event is Assistant Veterans Affairs Secretary Tammy Duckworth, with cane.  (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)  (Susan Walsh)
Richard Santulli, chairman of the Intrepid Fallen Hero Fund, holding scissors at center, and Arnold Fisher, honorary chairman of the Intrepid Fallen Hero Fund, with scissors third from right, cut the ribbon during the dedication of the National Intrepid Center of Excellence at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., Thursday, June 24, 2010. Also participating in the event is Assistant Veterans Affairs Secretary Tammy Duckworth, with cane. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) (Susan Walsh)

 In critical areas like quality, access, equity and -- above all -- cost, the U.S. healthcare system lags embarrassingly behind those of other developed nations. Congress spent much of the last year debating and ultimately passing a reform plan. Time will tell whether its goals will be met. The real hope, though, can be found outside Washington, where potentially revolutionary innovations in care are being explored by doctors and scientists every day.

In this slide show, Salon looks at some of the innovations with the most promise of cutting costs and improving efficiency and patient care.


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